Elevate your steak night with a simple sauce
Recipes below for:
- Peppercorn
- Chimichurri
- Salsa Verde
- Béarnaise
I love steak
And in our household, it’s a big treat to cook up a nice piece of steak.
The key, as always, sourcing high-quality meat.
So, knowing the source and buying locally if possible, puts you on the right track.
And with high quality produce, you don’t need to fuss much to have great flavour.
The purist or a little indulgence…
Some purist might argue that adding sauce is a big no, no.
And that salt, pepper and some butter are the only things you need.
And I also love just a simple steak and basting it in butter.
But as long as you don’t overwhelm the steak and drown out its flavour with sauce.
It can really enhance the dish.
And hey, why not experiment a little from time to time and learn some new sauces for fun.
My favourite
My favourite meal is the perfectly cooked steak (check out my post on how to cook the perfect steak).
Alongside, watercress, (salty) fries and a nice glass of red wine.
As a treat on the side, I usually choose one of the four sauces, below, to elevate my steak meal a notch or two.
They are simple and a great way to impress that special someone on Valentine’s Day.
We all know, food is the way to anyone’s heart!
Peppercorn sauce
It’s a classic.
And one of my favourites.
Traditionally serve with a nice fillet steak but really you can have it with whatever you fancy.
In a nutshell, its peppercorns cooked in double cream.
Simples.
Peppercorn sauce
Ingredients
Peppercorn sauce
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 1 – 2 tbsp cognac, brandy (or red wine)
- 150 ml beef stock (or chicken if you don't have beef)
- 2 tsp green peppercorns or a mix of various peppercorns
- 4 tbsp double cream
Instructions
Peppercorn sauce
- Using the same pan your steak was cooked in, add the chopped shallots and cook until softenAdd in the cognac, brandy (or red wine vinegar) to deglaze the pan i.e. take off the nice bits of brown from cooking the steak) and bring to a quick simmer.
- Add the stock and reduce by half over a high heatAdd the peppercorns and using a spoon or a pestle, gently crush a few peppercornsSeason if necessary and stir in 4 tbsp double cream
- Simmer (don’t boil) for 1 or 2 mins until the sauce is slightly thickened and the peppercorns have softened and mellowed in flavour
- TIP: using the back of a spoon cover it with sauce. If the sauce stays on it, then it’s done.
Chimichurri sauce
This is super simple and yet quite an impressive little sauce or it could be thought of as a type of steak dressing.
It’s literally, finely chopped parsley, garlic, oregano, wine vinegar and olive oil.
Good on flank steak.
Chimichurri sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley, firmly packed
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano or thyme
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- pinch of chilli flakes
- sea salt
Instructions
- Combine parsley, garlic, and oregano in the bowl of a food processor or you can chop by hand, until the herbs are finely chopped and mince the garlicThen put into a bowl and stir in olive oil, vinegar, red chilli flakes and lemon zest Season with salt.*If you can, let it rest for an hour in the liquid before serving
Notes
Salsa Verde
Best with flank, skirt, rib-eye.
Like Chimichurri, Salsa Verde is an uncooked sauce.
It can also go with anything from fish to pork.
Like all these sauces, there are always adaptations or family recipes handed down.
Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 big handfuls of flat leaf parsley
- 1 bunch of fresh basil
- 1 handful of mint
- 1 small handful of capers
- 1 small handful of gherkins in sweet vinegar
- 6 anchovy fillets
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Finely chop the garlic, herb leaves, capers, gherkins and anchovies
Place in a bowl, and add the mustard and vinegar, then slowly stir in the oil until you achieve the right consistency
Season to your taste with black pepper, and a bit of sea salt (maybe add a little more vinegar if needed)
Notes
Béarnaise Sauce
Best alongside a nice steak filet mignon or sirloin, but the ultimate is a with a well-marbled piece of beef.
And let’s not forget that fries dipped in Bernaise is amazing too!
OK, so lets clear up the the difference between Bernaise and Hollandaise.
Both are egg yolks whipped with melted butter. But…
Béarnaise (the more sophisticated cousin) uses shallot, chervil, peppercorns, and tarragon in a reduction of vinegar and wine.
While Hollandaise is more stripped down, using a reduction of just lemon juice or white wine.
Béarnaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 40 ml
white wine vinegar
- 10 ml lemon juice
- 20 g tarragon, chopped
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 3 egg yolks
- 200 g clarified butter
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Make a reduction: Boil the the white wine vinegar, lemon juice, half the tarragon and the shallots until reduced by half. Strain and allow to cool
- Mix together the egg yolks and reduction then whisk in a glass bowl over a bain-marie until the mixture is thick and able to coat the back of a spoon
- Remove from the heat and slowly start to drizzle in the butter whisking all the time until all the butter is incorporated
- Add the remaining tarragon and season with salt and pepper
- *TIPBe careful not to overheat when whisking as this will cause the sauce to split. If the sauce appears to be on the verge of splitting, as indicated by a slight greasy appearance, take it off the heat and whisk in a dash of cold water.
Notes
I’m linking to CookBlogShare
Leave a Comment
Love a good steak sauce! My favourite is peppercorn but I love the look of your salsa verde too 😀 Eb x
My fave is also peppercorn, although I do admit to dipping salty fries into a nice bearnaise as well 🙂